OSCAAR Mods & Hot Rods Open New Month at Peterborough Speedway

A new month’s action of the 2023 schedule kicked-off Saturday, August 5^th as the OSCAAR Modified and Hot Rod tours, along with the Outlaw Midgets joined the home track Bone Stock and Mini Stock divisions at Canada’s Toughest 3^rd Mile Oval.

The first feature event of the evening saw Tegan Stanley and Christen Lavalle on the front row as the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock got set to fight it out for 20 laps. Stanley – wheeling the piece he lovingly calls ‘Rhonda the Honda’ – took the early lead, with former track champion Ryan Oosterholt having a strong run in his first start of the season. Invader Phil Givens also showed some muscle, putting his No. 50 machine into the 3^rd spot just past the halfway mark. With lapped traffic in the mix, Oosterholt wrestled away the top spot with a 3-wide backstretch pass, as the scoreboard showed 15 laps complete. Stanley worked to the inside of Oosterholt with a turn 3 manoeuvre creating a late race shootout for his first career win, as the Bone Stocks again ran a caution-free feature. Oosterholt, Givens, Mark Griffin and Sam Arnott completed the top 5. In post-race inspection, Oosterholt was disqualified for a rear suspension violation, while Griffin had a right-front camber infraction. The finishing order was adjusted to move Sean Kennedy and Jake Kelly to 4^th and 5^th.

With 30 laps on the table, Bill Clarke and Ryan Cowan brought the Knightworks Design OSCAAR Hot Rod tour starters to the Great Canadian RV green flag. Bill Clarke took the early lead, with the No. 86 of Nick Clarke taking the runner-up spot. Tyler Hawn claimed the top spot with a trio of laps complete with Steve Book, Nick Clarke, Rob Bromley and Rick Spencer-Walt on his tail. The lead pack started to work through slower traffic at the back of the pack, with Spencer-Walt taking 2^nd with 11 laps on the board. Wheeling the borrowed No. 31 ride, Spencer Walt took the lead after a lap 20 red flag for track clean-up and held on for the win. Hawn, Bromley, Book and Cowan completed the top 5.

Mike Homewood and Rob Harrison brought the Outlaw Midget field from the staging area for their 25-lap feature tilt. Homewood was the early race leader, with Larry Lawson, Harrison and Mike Bradley hot on his tail. Just after the frontrunners caught the back of the pack, Lawson became the new race leader. Following a lap 17 yellow flag, Homewood regained the lead and held it through a green, white checkered finish to claim the win. Harrison, Zackary Millman, Bradley and Jason Semple chased the leader across the stripe.

Erin Kearns and Kent Missons – wheeling Rob Crick’s No. 84 ride – were on the front row for the 20-lap SwitchTire Mini Stock ‘A’ main. Kearns saw Missons zip past early, with the pace slowed by a yellow flag with only a single circuit complete. Ember Junkin moved into 2^nd position on the restart and the lead duo ran some solid laps that included working through the backmarkers with just past halfway. Missons and Junkin were both strong at the front of the field, but the No. 19 machine could only get close as Missons earned the win in his fill-in role. Brandon Feeney, John Lavalle and Kearns rounded-out the top-5.

AJ Emms and Wally Wilson paced the Just Foam It OSCAAR Modified starting field to the line for the 40-lap feature that would close-out the first night of August action. Emms grabbed the early lead from his front row starting spot, with Wilson falling in behind. Emms had an advantage of about 10 car lengths on his competition, with Jason Keen moving to the runner-up position on a restart following a mid-race red flag. While watching Emms sprint away to a lead of about half a track, Keen and Chad Strawn were locked in a battle for the 2^nd spot, with Strawn working past with less than 10 laps remaining. AJ Emms locked-up the win by leading every lap. Strawn, Keen, Norman Newman and Bryan Batty were next across the line.

Jake Kelly and Tegan Stanley each had a pair of Bone Stock opening round checkered flags. Brandon Feeney, Chris Tubman, Erin Kearns and Kent Missons took the Mini Stock heat races, with Norman Newman, AJ Emms, Chad Strawn and Jason Keen claiming the OSCAAR Modified heat race wins. OSCAAR Hot Rod qualifying wins went to Trevor Thompson, Rick Spencer-Walt, Tyler Hawn and Steve Book. Larry Lawson had wins in a pair of Outlaw Midget heats, with Mike Homewood and Nick Spiez taking the others.

All finishing positions are unofficial, pending scoring review and post-race technical inspection.

Bullring bullet points: Peterborough Speedway staff and officials hosted a free corn roast to open the night’s event…Bone Stock racer Zachary Cheng got a shock when he uncovered his No. 39 machine in the pit area before the night’s racing. Earlier in the day, some of his fellow racers helped replace the duct tape car numbers with some professional graphics and sponsor markings provided by Gates Graphics in Kingston…Shortly after winning his qualifying heat, Chris Tubman’s No. 88 succumbed to head gasket issues and was sidelined for the rest of the night…Michael Robinson made his first Peterborough Speedway start of 2023 in the No. 95 Mini Stock, while Phil Givens was on hand in his No. 50 Bone Stock ride…Outlaw Midget Series racer Glenn Raymond made hard contact with the frontstretch wall during qualifying. His No. 78 machine too badly damaged to continue. Luckily, the driver was unhurt…The first night of racing for August wrapped-up with a display from Supernova Fireworks.

Saturday, August 12th, Peterborough Speedway will host the season’s 3rd and final Double Toonie Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Pepsi. Spectator grandstand admission is just $4.00. The show’s race program will include the home track Bone Stock, Mini Stock, Renegade Truck, Late Model and Junior Late Model divisions, plus the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, with on-track autograph session at intermission. Pit gates will open at 1:30, spectator grandstands at 4:00 and the opening round of qualifying at 5:00.

Head to www.peterboroughspeedway.com or the track’s Facebook and Twitter social media sites for the latest news and information, including details of the 30th anniversary Autumn Colours Classic, presented by APC Auto Parts Centres – October 6th through 8th – at Canada’s Toughest 3rd